A Call To Action

By- Tony Speelman
President

There is a call to action happening for unionized workers.  Companies have seen fit to want to take away your hard-earned and hard-fought benefits.  Whether it be wage increases, holidays, or pensions, everything you are entitled to under your CBA is under attack.  The question is “WHY?”  Why would a company reward its employees by taking things away from them?

Look at Clare Rose…the employees on strike are members of Teamsters Local 812.  Why would Union members take such a drastic measure?  If you ask the employees it’s because the company is trying to reduce their wages by 30%, among other things. If you go to Clare Rose’s own website they state that they are looking to do away with the pension that their employees are currently depending on for their retirement.  The company’s reasoning for their proposal package is that all of their competitors have a separate driver and salesperson model that they are now also looking to follow, so they can remain competitive.  A couple of paragraphs later the company states “As the region’s largest beer distributor, we have a significant economic impact,..” 

So why would the region’s largest and most successful anything be looking to model themselves after their own competitors?  You tell me. 

Clare Rose says “we respect our employees’ rights under federal labor law to conduct a strike” –Not if you replace them with temporary workers which enable you to easily keep your employees out on the street!

Let’s bring it home—Why would a wealthy supermarket owner go on to sell his flagship store for $46 million AND look to take away Sunday time and one half from his employees?  Why would the same owner who, IN ADDITION, just got his share of $48 million from the Key Food Cooperative’s owners’ bonus structure--look to do away with the pension of the very same people who have worked to build his company since even before he was born? You tell me. 

We have been embroiled in this contract fight with Pick Quick Key Food and will not rest until it is settled, giving its employees/our members the respect and dignity they deserve.

ShopRite boasts on their website an annual sales number of $14.7 Billion.  So why are they looking to take away Sunday time and one-half for most of their employees?  Why are they not seeking to give anyone at minimum wage an increase? Why do large companies like these look to make their working men and women absorb the cost of doing business in a competitive market?

As with all of the companies that we represent, Stop & Shop is a great place to do your grocery shopping.  However, If history has taught us anything it’s to be prepared for the worst with Stop & Shop.  They routinely look to take as much as possible out of your contracts and we expect the same this year.  If you work for Stop & Shop, then you must have seen the technology that they are installing in your store, doing away with registers and thus cashiers and baggers.  Couple that with the perpetual budget crunch they have everyone working under and it seems pretty clear that they are looking to operate with as few employees as possible. 

They only way we can fight off corporate greed is to band together and stand strong.  We will be calling on members from different companies to support each other.  It’s time to build on our strength and unity.  You’ve heard me say before that their fight is your fight.  This year is evidence of that statement.  We must show companies that especially now we are more determined than ever to keep what we’ve already earned, and achieve more!